


Together

by AliceWhitmore, ariesgirl0418



Category: Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Homeless, Child Abuse, Cigarettes, Drugs, F/F, F/M, Forced Prostitution, Homelessness, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Police, Prostitution, Street Rats, Underage Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-09-19 14:24:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9445334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceWhitmore/pseuds/AliceWhitmore, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariesgirl0418/pseuds/ariesgirl0418
Summary: They wouldn't have survived if it weren't for each other. Six broken kids with dark pasts managed to find a family living on the harsh streets of New York City.But when one bad night gets all of them involved in a murder case, can they keep the secrets they held on to for so long? More importantly, will they all make it through together?





	1. The Notes

Jack took a long drag from his cigarette and stared at the note in his hands, "Flynn wants me to meet him tonight at that park next to the Toothiana shelter."

"Who's Flynn?" Jamie asked fumbling with a wallet he'd lifted off a tourist. "Can I have a hit?"

"You're too young to smoke," he shot back to the 12 year-old. "Flynn and I used to be in the same foster home years ago. We used to grab food from the backs of delivery trucks with this girl Merida. I still work with him sometimes, remember a month ago when I came back with that box of Campbell's?"

"Yeah, that stuff is good, we still have like, ten cans," Jamie answered. He eventually rubbed his prints off the wallet and threw it deeper into the alley they were talking in. "Why did you guys split up?" Jack shrugged.

"I think Flynn met some girl and Merida... well, she didn't like being tied down. Even then we only saw her a couple times a week, it made sense when she left." Jamie made a grab for the cigarette and grinned when he got it out of Jack's hands. He took a drag and immediately started coughing. Jack started laughing, "I told you."

"God, that was horrible! Why do you do that?" the younger one asked once he finished hacking up his lungs. They started walking down the street again with wandering hands towards anyone who passed.

"Just something to do. Wanna come to the park with me tonight?" They eventually made it back to their hiding spot in an abandoned subway station. A lot of other homeless people slept therr too so they stayed in one corner away from the rest with blankets and cardboard boxes to sleep under.

"Sure, maybe I can help," Jamie pulled all the cash out of the four wallets they managed to snag on their way there.

"My thoughts exactly."

 

 

 

Meanwhile, in another part of the city...

 

"Flynn wants to meet up tonight," Merida started and Hiccup gave her a weird look. "This guy I used to run with," she responded and Hiccup just shrugged.

"Are you going?" Hiccup asked. Merida shot him a hard look and didn't respond. "If you used to run with him, where is he now?"

Merida snorted and kept walking, easily dodging people while swiftly snatching any jewelry or watches that happened to be within reach of her nimble hands. After a while she responded, "He met a girl and ran off with her. Didn't think much about it at the time, don't think much about it now. We don't exactly run around the same turf anymore."

"What do you think he wants?" Hiccup asked. Merida glanced at him, for some reason she couldn't even be mad that he was asking so many questions. She couldn't really explain why, but Merida had a soft spot for the kid ever since she found him. He was curled up behind a dumpster, hiding from a group of older kids who had already gotten their hands on him a few times. He was new to the streets and though he hadn't admitted the real reason he was out there, Merida had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't his choice to be there. So she took him in and one night when he was sleeping at one of their old hideaways, she snuck out to track down the fuckers who had hurt him and neither of them had seen the kids since. 

Merida shrugged, "Come with me and find out." She hated leaving him alone even though he'd picked up on how to survive very quickly, she  _still_ didn't feel like he was ready to face the dangers of the streets on his own. 

Hiccup was silent for a while before he not-so-smoothly reached of the scrap of paper in her pocket. She let him have it. If it had been anyone else, they would have been down a few fingers. 

"The park. Toothiana shelter. 7PM. Flynn." Hiccup read aloud, his face scrunched in confusion, "He has terrible handwriting." Hiccup said as he handed her back the note.

Merida flicked his ear for taking the note and crumpled it back into her pocket, "Like yours is any better."

Hiccup smiled at her in response, "Can we go trade in all the jewelry now at the pawn shop? I want some ice cream." 

Merida rolled her eyes at him and pushed her curly, red hair away from her face, "Emergency cash, remember? Plus, we can always just go lift some ice cream from the gelato shop down the road from Cutter's. The people there never expect it, plus we might be able to pull some more cash."

Hiccup's face lit up at the sound of the idea.  _He's not ready to be alone._ She thought, she hadn't even stayed this long with Flynn and Jack, but Hiccup was different, he needed protection when the other two hadn't and Merida was going to make sure nothing happened to him.

"What are we waiting for, let's go!" He exclaimed and bounced away. Merida laughed, she had never heard Hiccup complain about their situation even when they couldn't find a good shelter most of the time. He found the good in most situations despite everything.

"Alright, ya little weasel. Don't get too excited now, we don't want to be chased out of every place we try and shoplift from." But Hiccup was already several feet ahead and not looking back to see if she was following.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of an abandoned building near downtown....

 

"Eugene, it's starting to get cold and I don't want you to get sick again. Are you sure you don't want to find a shelter for the night?" Rapunzel was worrying again.

"I'll be fine Goldie. Besides, I need to meet up with some old friends in about an hour," Flynn threw Rapunzel an apple he swiped from a vendor earlier that day and she frowned, knowing he'd stolen it. She was always going on about how he shouldn't steal from street vendors who were probably just trying to feed their families. The problem with the other side is that big corporations have a tendency of throwing anyone who dares steal from them in jail. Street vendors usually didn't even chase thieves down the block.

"Old friends?" she asked and the older boy rolled his eyes.

"I have friends you know," she frowned again. "I know, I know, that's not what you were trying to say. I was just joking Goldie," he walked over to where his girlfriend was sitting against an air conditioner and sat next to her. "These kids I used to run with before I met you, Jack and Merida, they said they wanted to meet up tonight. It's weird because those two fought all the time when we were together so if they sent me a note collectively then it's gotta be important."

"You want me to come with you? You know, in case it gets dangerous?" Rapunzel asked, leaning into Flynn. He sighed.

"That's the thing, I want to keep you safe." He laughed. "Besides, those two are pretty vulgar, I'm not sure you'd get along with them."

"Come on, I want to meet your friends! And I doubt they can be any more vulgar than you, Eugene." Flynn laughed and hugged his girlfriend closer. 

"Yeah you're right. It might be fun. We should start heading over there now, it's a long walk."

Rapunzel gave him an encouraging smile, "Yeah, let's go meet your friends."

 


	2. The Body

 

Toothiana was famous for her elegant and sophisticated parties in the city. She was even more famous for her black market, drug-induced raves. Young and beautiful and in a position of power, of course she knew how to work around the police. Hell, half the police force knew she hosted parties where dealers could sell their drugs to anyone, where people got so high and drunk that the hangovers lasted for a week, but no one said a word. She had hosted elegant ballroom dances at dusk followed by raunchy, ecstasy and alcohol themed ravess which lasted until dawn. Yet, whenever someone stopped by, her place was impeccably neat and orderly. Everyone knew about the wild parties, but Tooth cleaned up well.

Tonight, Tooth had a boring meeting with the mayor and his council about the welfare of the homeless population and she wanted nothing more than to get back to her penthouse apartment, put on the emerald green dress with golden trim that she had had specifically made for the night, and host one of her underground raves. Unfortunately, North had insisted she be at the meeting and so she was there, listening to half the council groan about how the homeless population were terrorizing the city folk and their dirty selves were driving away business. Boo hoo hoo.

Tooth rolled her eyes and looked to North. She saw how he was gritting his teeth at the comments. He may have been a lead on the police force, most of whom wanted nothing more than to shake down the homeless, but his real passion was helping the kids who were out there. That was what drew her to him, when he talked about those kids, his entire demeanor changed. No longer was he the lead police agent who intimidated everyone in the room with his large size, burly appearance, and aggressive tone of voice. His eyes would soften and his voice would get low and kind and it sparked something in Tooth. Whenever North called her about a kid on the street they'd picked up and told her where they were heading, she'd donate money anonymously to the foster home or family to give them a sense of normalcy. Of course, she knew that what she was doing wasn't any consolation for the kid having a real family, but it felt good. It felt even better to know that North knew she was doing it for him. Plus, the sex was always great afterwards. 

Being a large figurehead for the city came with a downside. She was a rich heiress, North was a police officer. It would hurt the reputation she'd built so precisely to be seen publicly in a relationship with the man and it may even open investigations on him. Seeing as he was the one who always covered her ass about the raves, that would be a bad thing for him. They'd talked about it plenty of times, how she was willing to quit her lifestyle, move away, marry and adopt kids with him, but he couldn't just uproot his job at the moment.  _There are kids out there who need me, Toothy._  He told her every time in his deep Russian accent that only sounded soft when he was talking to her. She'd look him straight in the eyes and tell him,  _And I need you too, Nicholas._  That was how the conversation always ended. She didn't stop her raves and North didn't stop covering for her. 

After the meeting finally ended,  _thank god_ , Tooth sped towards home. Her assistants had most of it all set up. Tooth wandered up the stairs and carefully changed into her gown. The fabric was soft and shimmering, the gold sparkling under the light. She pulled her auburn hair up and held it in place by golden clips. Her make-up was carefully done in shades of gold and emerald green, she slipped on the golden watch North had bought her and the silver ring he'd given her at the start of their relationship.  _One day Toothiana, one day we will live our dreams. We'll have a large family, a small house, no fame, no murders, just us._  He'd promised her. She longed for the idea. 

Guest flooded in over the next few hours, Tooth wandered between groups offering conversation, laughter, anything to fill the void of North being at work. She didn't engage in the drugs and alcohol, she never did, just supplied the place for the action. At some point during the night, Tooth took a long drink from her cup of sparkling water and something felt off. After a few minutes, the heiress started to feel woozy and excused herself from conversation.  _Fresh air. Yes, that may help._  She thought and moved sluggishly towards the elevator door. As soon as she was in the elevator, she started to feel like someone was watching her. She whipped her head around wildly, but no one was with her.  _Nothing, it's nothing. I’m being paranoid._  Still, she felt off. Her hands shook, her body trembled.  _Spiked, the drink was spiked._  She stumbled out of the elevator when it lurched to a halt on the ground floor. Carefully, she exited the building and wandered around the corner, feeling like someone was following her. The alley wobbled underneath her feet and she felt like she was slipping.  _North._  She frantically tried to pull her phone from her bra where it'd been hiding. It took her a few minutes to find the 1 button because the numbers kept moving around. She fell against the wall and listened to the shrill ringing. He picked up after two rings. 

"Toothiana, is everything okay?" she never called him while he was at work and his voice sounded concerned.

She felt like there was something in her throat as she croaked out a response, "No, North, I need help."

His voice picks up, "What's wrong? Where are you?"

She looks around but it's not an alley anymore, it's a long corridor with a large wooden door at the end. She panics a little bit, "I don't know! I-I thought I was outside, but I guess not," Tooth started to cry into the phone, her voice screaming with desperation. "North, I need you! Please help me!" 

"Toothiana, if you're outside, go back into the apartment, lock yourself in your room. I'm heading there now," he says urgently and when she doesn't reply, he screams at her. "Tooth, listen to me! Get back inside!" 

Tooth tried to walk and something grabbed her arm. She screamed and flailed, knocking herself to the ground. Her phone flew from her hand and she heard it slide across the alley. North was shouting, but it's indistinguishable. 

"Hello, darling," a voice from above her drawls, making her skin crawl. “You really made this too easy.”

"No," she whispered. 

"TOOTH!" she heard North scream, but it doesn't matter.

She tried to look up at the man, to confirm her worst fears, but everything was blurry, she couldn't even tell if the person is male.  _I'm sorry, Nicholas, I'm sorry._ Something struck her head and everything went dark as pain radiated from her left temple.  _I should have listened, I'm sorry._ _She thinks before whatever hit her comes down again and cracks her skull._

 

 

The Park. Toothiana Shelter. 7:16PM 

Jack and Jamie were late. At some point, while they were at their spot, Jack had fallen asleep. He hasn’t been sleeping a lot lately at night, so Jamie tried to let him rest for as long as possible before having to wake him up so they could rush to meet Jack’s friends. Even running the whole way, they were late.

“You fucker!”

Jamie didn’t have time to process the situation before Jack was grabbed by his shirt to be pulled close to a tall, brunet boy. The boy started cursing in Spanish angrily while Jack grinned like a madman.

“Let him go, Flynn!” shouted a girl before running to stand next to the taller teen and start yanking on the arm that was gripping Jack’s blue hoodie.

“Good to see you too, Flynn. This your girl?” Jack didn’t seem at all phased at being grabbed the second they showed up. Jamie took a second to glance around at the other kids standing nearby. A curly-haired redhead stood a few feet away with her arms crossed, looking generally unimpressed. Next to her was a scrawny boy who seemed closer to Jamie’s age who seemed very content to stay as far away from the conflict as possible. The girl who had run up a minute ago had impossibly long blonde hair that reached her knees while in a braid. The only one of all of them who seemed like a genuine threat was the older teen who was currently shaking Jack like they do in the movies.

“Really Jack? A prank? We haven’t seen each other in almost a year and you decide to bring us all together for one of your pranks? What were you planning, you little shit?” Jack had stopped grinning at Flynn’s angry expression and was now looking more confused than ever.

“What are you talking about? You invited me here!” Finally, Jack shoved away from the other boy and took a more defensive stance towards his friend. He pulled the note out of his jacket pocket and held it up. Now, it was Flynn’s turn to look confused.

“That’s not my handwriting,” Jack put the note away as the redhead and scrawny kid walked up to join the group.

“Well it’s not like you were writing any essays when we were together,” he muttered as the redhead girl started cursing at Jack.

“…You no good…” was all Jamie managed to catch through her thick accent and anger. Flynn put up his hand.

“It wasn’t him Merida. But I don’t know why anyone else would want to get us all together…” Jack, Flynn and Merida all started murmuring together about why someone would lure them all to this place. Jamie soon got bored and wandered over to the blonde with ridiculously long hair. When she noticed him staring at it she smiled.

“Hi, I’m Rapunzel,” Jamie gave her another once-over.

“No shit,” he burst out laughing while she stared in shock at his language. “I’m Jamie.”

Jack was smiling at the exchange and turned to give Rapunzel a charming smile. “Is this your girl Flynn? She’s even more beautiful than I imagined,” Jamie rolled his eyes.

“Now is not the time you sassanack!” shouted Merida looking annoyed.

“Yeah Jack, I don’t think it’s ever the time to hit on my girlfriend,” Flynn leaned into Jack with narrowed eyes.

“Come on Flynn, he’s just being nice,” answered Rapunzel.

“Yeah Flynn, I’m just being friendly,” Flynn looked about ready to deck the younger boy.

“Her hair is so long,” whispered the scrawny kid standing next to Jamie. Jamie grinned at him.

“And so nice. She’s like an angel,” he whispered back. Flynn turned to them suddenly and grinned.

“Not in the bedroom.”

“Flynn!” shouted Rapunzel in horror. “Not in front of the kids!” Jamie and the other boy just burst out laughing.

Eventually they all started arguing again and Jamie’s short attention span wore out. He wandered closer to the trees and farther away from the group. They didn’t seem to notice he left, so he continued into the trees, looking at the changing colors of fall until he got to a particularly vast field of daisies. That’s when he noticed the body lying in the middle of the flowers.

Jamie jumped back with a choked gasp before he called out, “Jack!”

 

 

 

The Park. Toothiana Shelter. 7:43PM 

They all jumped when they heard the little one, Jamie, call for Jack. Immediately, Jack’s face pales and he takes off running, thrashing through the trees to find Jamie, who was screaming for him again.  Flynn and Merida take off right behind him. Hiccup looked to her and she grabs his hand before bolting after everyone. It was getting dark and Rapunzel hated being left alone.

Rapunzel almost ran into Flynn as she tried to skid to a stop with the rest of the group. They were all staring at something in the flowers. Rapunzel crept around her boyfriend to check what it was.

The sight was sickening. It was a woman lying among the daisies. Her pale skin bruised and stained with something red, _blood perhaps?_   Her auburn hair was matted with a dark brown color, _definitely dried blood._ A part of her skull poked out from among the strands, _she must have had her head bashed in._ Her facial features looked distorted, but Rapunzel was still able to make out the soft skin and almond eyes. She looked like she could have been of some sort of Asian descent, judging by the tone of her skin color and the shape of her eyes. Her green dress was torn in places and stained. _What happened to this woman?_

Flynn startled her as he pulled her head against his chest, blocking her view of the woman. Rapunzel’s heart was racing, the image had already been burned into her brain. Rapunzel caught a glimpse of Merida trying to tug Hiccup away from the dead woman and Jack turning Jamie away. Both of the younger boys looked lost and scared, despite how brave they had been when she met them.

“Let’s get out of here, before the cops show up.” Flynn suggested.

“Good idea, no one’s gonna believe a bunch of homeless kids had nothing to do with this. Especially since the pigs hate our guts.” Jack said, face set in a hard expression.

Rapunzel pushed away from Flynn. “We can’t just leave her!” she said. “Who knows when someone will find her or if she’s even missing.”

“Goldilocks,” Merida started, her tone angry and forceful. “Look at her dress, and the jewelry, someone is gonna notice the dame is missing. She wasn’t killed for her money.”

“But-“ Rapunzel tried to reply, but Jack cut her off.

“Did you guys hear that?” he asked.

Everyone fell silent, sure enough, they could all hear the police sirens coming closer.

“Someone tipped off the cops to let them know she’s here, we need to go. Now.” Flynn added with finality.

Rapunzel hesitated, but she trusted Flynn’s judgement. “Okay,” she said.

“We can head down to the abandoned box cars along the tracks, like we used to,” Merida was looking at Jack and Flynn. “I’ve got some spare cash I’d been saving for an emergency, now’s as good as ever to book it out of the city.”

“We’ll talk about that later, first let’s get the kids away from here.” Jack said, urging Jamie forward.

Merida took off, grasping Hiccup’s hand, Flynn pushed Rapunzel after them, but a bright flash went off before Jack and Jamie could get far enough away from the body.

“Shit.” She heard Jack say under his breath and pushed Jamie forward, trying to get him to leave the woman. He moved stiffly and slowly, as if in shock. “Go!” Jack shouted and shoved Jamie one more time. The kid snapped out of it and booked it after Merida and Hiccup.

They didn’t stop running or dodging through alleys until they reached what Rapunzel assumed was the spot Merida had mentioned. She tugged open the heavy door to one of the boxcars and helped Jamie and Hiccup in. Jack jumped in after them and then Flynn, Flynn offered a hand to Rapunzel but she just smiled at him and jumped in herself. Merida followed suit and shut the door behind her. She rummaged around in the dark and pulled out something.

“Will someone give me a lighter?” she demanded and Rapunzel felt Flynn move in front of her, before light illuminated the car. Merida tossed a lighter back at Flynn who caught it in one graceful movement and tucked it into his shirt pocket. “Thanks.” Merida mumbled before setting down the lantern in the middle of the boxcar.

She settled herself on the floor and Hiccup sat close to her, but just out of reach. Jamie and Jack sat side by side next to them. Rapunzel pulled her legs underneath her and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as Flynn sat next to her. At some point Jack pulled out a cigarette and lit it with visibly shaking hands. After a few hits his trembles slowed and he passed the cigarette to Flynn who accepted it gratefully. Rapunzel scrunched up her nose in slight irritation.

“What now?” she asked after a long silence.

“I think we should leave.” Merida said.

“I agree, that flash back there was definitely from a camera. They could have a picture of us at the scene. We shouldn’t stay in the city.” Jack said.

“I’m not so sure leaving will help. If they do have a photo of us, we’re screwed either way.” Flynn said, offering the cigarette to Merida who took it with a scowl.

“That’s true, they could just call the cops from a city or two over and we’d be picked off the streets before we even know.” Rapunzel tried.

“So what, we just stay _here?_ ” Merida asked, her voice dangerous. “I’m not going to hide from them.”

“No one said anything about hiding, Mer.” Jack said.

Her head snapped towards him. _If she were a dragon, she’d be breathing fire right now._ Rapunzel thought. The fact that she was literally blowing smoke out of her nose wasn’t helping to deter the image.

“Then what do you suppose we do, huh?” She demanded, her accent and anger making it hard to distinguish the words.

“Someone set us up, didn’t they?” Hiccup piped up. Everyone looked at him and Rapunzel felt like she’d been punched. He looked so young and so scared, he didn’t deserve to be mixed up in all this.

“Yeah, kid. Looks like it.” Flynn said glumly.

Merida looked like she was struggling to say something.

“Don’t worry about it, let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll go to our hideouts and get whatever we have and figure out a plan. Right now, we all need some sleep. This hasn’t been the best night.” Rapunzel offered.

Merida snorted at her words, but didn’t say anything. She got up and looked along the sides of the box car. She managed to find two very old and very ragged blankets and offered them to Hiccup and Jamie. Both of them curled up under them and stared at the light from the lantern. The four older kids exchanged looks of dismay.

“Get some sleep.” Jack said as Merida turned off the light.


	3. The Pooka

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, we're not dead, at least not physically...

Flynn didn't sleep well in the abandoned train car. Everyone else had been exhausted over the events of the previous day, he could hear their heavy breathing and soft snores, but his mind was racing with ways they could get out of this predicament. Leaving the city probably wouldn't help and hiding would be difficult if the NYPD started a search for them. Their allies and trade partners would sell them out in a heartbeat for the right price and then at least half of their best hideouts would be compromised.

Sometime during the night, he heard the rustling of someone getting up and he looked to see Jack hopping out of the train car as quietly as he could. Most of them were light sleepers and he seemed determined not to wake anyone else up. Flynn followed him out into the cold night air and went to sit next to him on the tracks a few cars down. Jack barely glanced up, but it was enough for Flynn to see the dark circles under the younger one's eyes. Back when they were together, Jack was the one who slept the least, taking the most lookout shifts and only resting when he was on the verge of collapsing. Flynn suspected it had something to do with the way he was always tossing and turning like he had nightmares. Of course they all had them, it was nothing new.

Jack eventually pulled out a cigarette and lit it with shaking hands. "You should sleep," Flynn started. Jack laughed a bit humorlessly at that.

"Speak for yourself. Let me guess, you were up thinking about how we can get away from the cops?" Flynn nodded and Jack laughed again. "Good old escape artist Flynn, always trying to find a way out."

"And let me guess, you were having nightmares like usual?" Flynn asked. Jack stayed silent at that, staring at the ground while taking another drag from his cheap cigarette. Flynn looked out into the empty field where the abandoned train yard was. "We all get them, Jack."

"Somehow that doesn't make it any better." he answered simply.

"Wanna talk about it?" Flynn knew he wouldn't, but he asked anyway just because. Jack shook his head slowly.

"You know it’s hard out here for kids on the streets. I’ve done a lot since we split up all those years ago after the foster home. A lot’s happened."

"I can't say a lot hasn’t happen with me too, stuff I don’t really wanna talk about either." Flynn admitted. "Hell, a lot happened in just those months after we split up the second time." Jack nodded along, then smiled mischievously.

"Yeah, look at you. You got a girl now! Never thought I'd see the day when Flynn Rider settled down with a nice blonde." Flynn pushed him affectionately and told him to shut his mouth.

"I didn't think I'd ever stick with one girl either, but shit happens." Jack looked at him then.

"Yeah, it does." Flynn didn't feel like prying into that statement right now and just shrugged.

"Come on, we should probably get back before one of the others wakes up and thinks we've run off without them." The older boy stood up and held out his hand to Jack who just shook his head.

"I think I'm just gonna stay out here for a little longer. Clear my head." Flynn shrugged and started heading back, he understood that Jack needed to be alone right now.

When he crawled back into his spot on the train car, Rapunzel stirred next to him. She turned to face him, still fast asleep, and he took a moment to appreciate how peaceful see looked. She'd come so far from the broken, sobbing girl he'd found in a back alley 8 months ago. Now she looked healthier, her face had a youthful glow and she'd seemed perfectly content staying with a street kid who could give her nothing, simply for the stupid reason that she loved him and he loved her.

A late night about a month ago while they were camping on their usual roof of the neglected warehouse, he'd asked Rapunzel if she was happy with him and the life they lived together. She'd said she wouldn't give up a life with him for the whole world and she had smiled up at him with such an undying love in her eyes that he couldn't help but believe her. Now, as he was looking down at the sleeping face of the girl he loved, he realized that he felt the same. If someone told him 9 months ago that he'd give up all the riches in the world for one girl he wouldn't have believed them, now he understood. Rapunzel was worth more than any riches.

With that thought, he drifted into peaceful sleep besides her.

 

 

They all woke up the next morning before dawn to split up. "Let's all meet back up at on 116th and 3rd once we get our stuff. After that we can decide where we want to go." Merida suggested and everyone else agreed. They broke into the pairs they met up in; Merida and Hiccup, Jack and Jamie, Flynn and Rapunzel.

Flynn and Rapunzel's hideout on the abandoned rooftop was about 20 blocks away. It was a long and quiet walk through the mostly empty streets in early morning before they reached the fire escape. Rapunzel tried to keep up her positive attitude about going on the run, but even she had trouble finding a bright side. "Face it Princess, this ain't gonna be fun," Flynn finally snapped after her constant chatter of new scenery and more friends got to him. Her smile dropped and he suddenly felt like ten times more of an asshole.

"I didn't mean it like that darling, I'm just tired. Didn't sleep well after last night, you know?" He rubbed his neck nervously but stopped when he felt the soft press of Rapunzel's lips on his own. He leaned into the kiss and pulled her closer. Yes, he was definitely whipped.

"It's OK," she assured him after she pulled away. "I know I can go a little over board with the rainbows and sunshine." She looked down and Flynn placed a hand on her cheek, leaning her face up to stare into her bright green eyes.

"It's why I love you, I'm just a little on edge right now." He looked around the empty rooftop. "We should probably go and meet up with the others."

"One thing first," Rapunzel took a deep breath and look more nervous then he'd ever seen her. "I want you to cut off my hair." Flynn blinked for a second.

"What?" She didn't show any signs of humor and he blinked again. "Princess, you love your hair," she shrugged with fake nonchalance.

"It'll be a hassle to deal with on the run, besides I've been meaning to cut it for a while. I-I guess I've just been scared to, it meant a lot to my m-mother," her eyes started to water and Flynn pulled her in close, stroking her hair soothingly.

"You don't have to tell me, I'll do it," he waited for her to take a few shaky breaths and let her step out of his arms. She took one good look at him before turning around and letting her long hair flow down her back. Flynn took out his pocket knife and grabbed a lock of her hair. "This may hurt a bit Princess, but I've been cutting my hair like this since I was 12 so it'll be okay." Then, he started sawing off locks of her golden hair one by one at her shoulders. Living on the streets for months had taken its toll on the once silky hair, it was knotted and had dreaded up in some place. That and the fact that Rapunzel had unusually thick hair for a blonde had impacted how long the haircut lasted, which was about 15 minutes. When Flynn was done, he tapped his girlfriend on the shoulder and when she turned around he saw that she was crying.

In an instant she had jumped into his arms again with one of her huge hugs. "Thank you, Flynn." he heard her mutter into the crook of his neck and hugged her back smiling. After pulling away he looked down at her, her hair looked darker when it was shorter and he marveled at how light it was as he ran his fingers through it.

"Come on sweetheart. Let's go show you off to the rest of the kids."

 

 

After spending a few nights not being able to sleep without hearing the terrified screams from the last few minutes of Tooth’s life, North gave up trying. He’d lie awake being tormented by visions of Tooth’s death. He’d pushed to be on the case, that way he could cover up anything if needed and steer the case away from anything incriminating himself.

North never used to be this crooked, in fact, he only started because of Tooth. Everything always started and ended with her, Toothiana was like North’s own personal heroin. Nothing was ever short of a high with her.

North was tired of the constant pain and agony associated with her untimely death. There were no leads in the case besides the photo of the girl from where her body was moved. It had only been a few days, but North and his team had been running checks in missing persons repeatedly to find out who the mystery girl was. North was hoping with her there would be some clue to what had happened to his Toothiana.

“GAH!” North bellowed, and angrily yanked the cord to the lamp on the bedside table. He glanced at the right half of the bed, where Tooth usually slept peacefully and iridescent. His heart scrunched up in his chest at the sight of emptiness. He threw the bed covers off of him and sat at the side of the bed. His large shoulders slumped inwards and tears welled up in his eyes. North was not a crier normally, but Tooth was his life and now she was gone. He remembered the day she first spent the night at his apartment.

_“I always sleep on the left side of the bed, Nicholas.” Tooth demanded, slim hands on her hips and defiance etched into her face._

_North had been embarrassed to admit it, he was sure his already rosy cheeks were bright red as he told her, “I understand, Toothiana, but you are what is right with my life. You remind me of what is right, to make the right decisions. So I just associate you with the right side of my bed.” North knew it was cheesy and all, but the thrown look on Tooth’s face was enough to make his heart stutter._

_“Fine, we’ll compromise. I’ll sleep on the right side of the bed as long as you sleep on the right side of mine.” North had smiled at her and swept her up into his arms and kissed her more fiercely than he had before. That was their compromise and that was how it went with them._

North wiped the stray tears from his face and grunted in disapproval. “Stupid. It is stupid.” He muttered to himself. He grabbed at the grainy photo of the little girl that lay folded on the bedside table and opened it again, as he did every time he thought of Tooth’s murder.

North knew instantly the girl was homeless, that was his specialty, identifying the unknown. He didn’t recognize her from the alleys homeless children and teens hid in, cruised by on his days off when Tooth was busy and North was too restless to stay inside. She looked young, but it was hard to make out an exact age based off the quality of the photo and how hungry and scared she looked. Usually, the younger ones always had a buddy they travelled with, so North figured she was with someone, maybe a sister?

North caressed the photo and held it like it would crumble if he touched it too much.  _It is stupid, it is just a photo._  He thought, but it was the only link to Tooth he had left. North glanced around his room. In the corner, tucked behind a box, was a bag that held some of the cash from the party Tooth had been hosting at the time of her murder. It was meant to go to her supplier, a man North had personally worked with as an undercover agent many years back, but North hadn’t had the guts to face him just yet. He’d gotten to Tooth’s place so quickly, the place was trashed and people were scattered all over, high or intoxicated. North had cleaned up the place, trying not to leave any incriminating evidence, sent the guests packing, and searched for Tooth’s phone. It took him a while before he found it broken in a dumpster two blocks from her apartment. North called in her disappearance, saying he’d gotten a distressed call from the heiress and left to check on her and when he got there he couldn’t find her but there was blood and evidence of a struggle outside and he was requesting backup. No one thought twice about it.

North sighed and knew he’d have to face the Pooka soon or he would come after North for the cash. The Pooka had a low tolerance for those who skimped him on his pay, after all, he was the king of the dealers. The Pooka didn’t think twice about sending his goons out for a quick beat down to get his point across. North had come into contact with some the cases involving such events more than a few times as an officer.

North pulled on a pair of jeans and threw a jacket over his shoulders. He slung the bag on his arm and grabbed his keys. North drove in silence until he got close to the Pooka’s base of operations. He parked several blocks over and dodged through alleys to the back entrance. A few of the Pooka’s goons were hanging out in the dead of the night, grunting. North had never liked the mindlessness of them.

“Is the Pooka in? Got a special delivery for ‘em, curtesy of the Fairy.” North called out to them.

“Well, if it isn’t Kris Kringle in the flesh.” One of them responded. “Haven’t seen the likes of you in a bit. Heard your dame passed, such a shame a beauty like ‘er.”

North clenched his fist. “I’ll ask again, is the Pooka in?” North demanded.

“Just playing chess with himself, strangest thing really.” Another responded.

North nodded a thanks at them and opened the heavy door. He knew his way around the Pooka’s place better than most of the goons, it didn’t take him long to find the chamber he was looking for. He knocked in the pattern he’d always had when it was just him and the Pooka working together and pushed the door open.

Not a second later, a knife flew past his face and into the dartboard directly next to the door. The Pooka always had a flair for dramatics. North shut the door behind him and found the Pooka, rising from the chair he’d been sitting in. Indeed, just as the goon had said, a chessboard was set up on a spinning block so the Pooka could easily rotate it between turns. He watched as the Pooka limped into the dim light to be seen clearly. North still remembered the day he met the Pooka.

It was his first undercover gig he was trying to figure out how the Pooka got drugs all across the city right under the cops nose. It had been a couple of months before he had even met the Pooka and many more before he had the Pooka’s trust. The night he’d met the Pooka, he’d been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, taken to the Pooka’s hideout, thrown to the floor and locked in the room with the guy. North had gotten to his knees and looked around. He heard the sound of something dragging across the floor in front of him and saw the Pooka limping badly, his lame foot twisted outwards away from his body. North had heard whispers that the Pooka had once done his own dirty work when it came to getting his money back, but there had been an incident a few years back. The Pooka got into a shooting match with a buyer and nearly had his leg shot off, he was the only survivor to make it out of the fight, but not without suffering the consequences. Rumor had it the bullet was still in his leg. The wound left him disabled and forced him into hiring more goons to go out and collect.

North had almost got himself killed the moment the Pooka had shown his face. The man limped in a way that dragged his foot and made him look like he was hopping at the same time. North had chuckled without thinking and the sound of movement stopped abruptly.

“What’s so funny, mate?” the Pooka had growled at him.

“It’s just, you look like a bunny with the limp. Can I call you Bunny?” North had tried for humor and found that the distributor was unamused. Not even a second later the cool metal of a gun was pressed tightly to the side of his head.

“I’m the Pooka, you can’t disrespect me by referring to me as a bunny. Does your thick skull get it?” he’d snarled.

North realized the Pooka was about to pull the trigger and if he didn’t act fast, this would be where his life ended. “Wasn’t disrespect, sir. Just trying to make light of what seemed like a horrible incident.” North looked up at the Pooka while gesturing to his lame leg. “Figured even distributors had a sense of humor. If you can’t make light of a bad situation, you fall into misery.”

The Pooka didn’t respond for a few minutes, nor did he lower his weapon. North could feel his heart stopping and restarting the entire time, two minutes felt like a thousand years. Finally, the Pooka had broken into a wide grin.

“Ya know, ya make a lot of sense, Nick, that’s why I wanted to see you tonight. I kinda like you, I think you’ve earned the right to live. Be warned though, you ever-“ he thrust the gun further into North’s skull. “-act disrespectful to me again, I won’t think twice about shooting you.” The Pooka had pulled his gun away from North and hid it in the holster on his side again.

“So I can call you Bunny.” North asked, getting to his feet.

The Pooka laughed at that. “You’re funny, Nick, but sure, you can call me Bunny.”

North had also remembered that that same night was the one where Bunny had revealed he knew North was cop and offered him a proposition. North could keep his life and keep working with him and his crew as long as Bunny was able to filter the information North presented to his boss. North became the mole for both sides and it worked, Bunny got his competitor locked away in place of him and North got his promotion, so long as North made sure that Bunny was never found out. They had a mutual way of protecting one another and it was in their best interests to help one another.

“North, wasn’t expecting you around these parts for a few weeks, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Bunny asked.

North tossed the bag on a chair and approached Bunny. “Just cashing in for the Fairy.” North couldn’t bring himself to say her name.

Bunny understood though, after all, he wasn’t a brainless sucker like his goons. Bunny was actually an educated man and very brilliant. He played chess with himself as a way of strategizing his distribution process. His goons didn’t understand, how could they when their heads were all up their asses, but North had found it interesting that the Bunny came from sophistication and ran a drug business. He’d spent countless hours trying to probe into the depth of the other man’s mind and Bunny found it amusing how wonderstruck North had been.

“I heard about that, rumor has it there aren’t many leads. I hope you’re not here to accuse me of anything, mate.” Bunny sounded sincere and threatening at the same time.

“Nah, just came to talk, Bunny. Been having some sleepless nights and figured you could brainstorm with me.” North thrust his hands into his pockets.

“Have a seat, North.” Bunny gestured towards the chess table and limped over there himself. He seated himself and started back where he left off with his game. North watched him in the same wonder as he had all those years ago. “It’s a shame about Toothiana, she was good for business.”

“Is that all you thought of her?” North asked.

Bunny looked at him. “’Course not, she was a good person too, just crooked. Then again, that’s most of us in this business. Ya know, I thought of her fondly. I looked out for her, just like you did, mate.” Bunny continued to play chess without looking up at North.

“What do you mean?” North questioned, puzzled by the Pooka’s words.

“I had a couple guys stationed nearby at all times. Pretty dame like her in the dealing biz, plus she’s the girlfriend of a cop? She’s bound to be a target for not only the crooks you put away, but my competitors. What was I supposed to do, let her get herself killed?” Bunny stared at him.

North took a moment to process the information before responding. “If you had men there, the night she died, did they see anything?” North asked quickly.

Bunny turned away from him and stared at his game again. “I don’t know what you want me to say, mate.”

“Did your men see what happened to Tooth?” North growled. Bunny ignored him and continued with his game. The longer that North sat there in silence, the angrier he got. Finally, his patience ran out and he swept the remaining pieces off of Bunny’s board. “Answer me!” North demanded.

“You’re out of control. Just because some bitch-“ Bunny started.

“She wasn’t a bitch.” North growled menacingly.

“-died, doesn’t mean you have the right to come in here and demand information. That’s not how the game is played, Nick. Now calm the fuck down or you won’t get any answers.”

“Everything is a damn game to you, Bunny.” North said as he started pacing. In a fit of frustration, he punched his hand into the wall.

“Feel better yet, mate?” Bunny asked, watching him shake the pain from his hand.

North sighed. “A little. So, can I ask about what your men saw now?” North sat down across from Bunny.

Bunny thrummed his fingers on the empty table. “Not much, if I’m being honest, which I know is not what you want to hear. They saw Tooth leave her apartment on the phone, stumbling around. She ducked into an alley and my guys lost her, by the time they went to investigate, a figure in black was leaving the scene and they tried to follow after them and lost ‘em.”

"What about the girl?” North asked.

“What girl?” Bunny looked at North curiously.

North scrambled into his pocket to pull out the picture of the only suspect they had. “This girl.” He pointed to the picture and Bunny broke out in laughter. “What’s so funny?” North asked.

Bunny could barely contain himself as he tried to answer. “That’s-not-a-girl.” He broke out in more laughter and North could feel the embarrassment from his mistake burying itself in his bones. Bunny calmed down a little more to explain. “North, that’s a little boy with long hair and a thin face, probably because he’s starving and homeless. Not to mention the photography is horrible.”

North cleared his throat. “I figured the kid was homeless, I’ve been running searches on a girl though, so in the morning I’ll run a missing person’s for males.”

“I doubt it’ll come up with anything. Kids like him, they don’t want to be found, probably ain’t got anyone who cares anyways. Your searches for him are going to be in vain, North. Probably shouldn’t waste your time.” Bunny said.

“I need to know what happened to Tooth.” North persisted.

“Look, these kids, they probably just came across the body without being involved in her death. You should be looking into her past, the crooks she used to run with before she got out.”

“Kids? As in more than one?” North questioned. If Bunny was surprised he made a mistake, he hid it well.

“I meant kid. Late night, got a lot on my mind. Plus, how many times do you get a homeless kid who’s involved in a murder? Probably not much and they ain’t gonna stick around long enough to be thrown in jail or worse, foster care. I’m serious North, check into her past, you know the guy she used to be tied to, he’s a good suspect as any.” Bunny counters.

“I suppose you’re right, but that was such a long time ago, what was his name again?” North tapped his head to try to remember the name.

“Pitch. Pitch Black was what he went by, disappeared after we got Tooth out.” Bunny whispered.

Both of them jumped at a thud from the next room. North stood up and started towards the door.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Probably just one of my guys coming back with what’s due to me, I think you should go, it’s late and I’ve got some work to do.” Bunny said.

 North looked wary, but nodded. “Thanks for your help, Bun.” He ducked out the door he came through and walked back to his car, head swimming with the new information.

 

 

Hiccup and the others had been in the next room listening to the conversation between Bunny and the cop, North as he was called. When North called Jamie a girl, Hiccup had burst out laughing so hard, Merida had to cover his mouth before he alerted North that they were there. Jamie’s face had gotten so red, it made him laugh even more, to the point where he actually fell on the floor and couldn’t breathe. The other just stared at him in confusion.

Jamie had kicked him in the ribs as payback and when Hiccup tried to lunge at him, Merida had grabbed him around the waist and threw him on a chair while Jack grabbed Jamie and pushed him away.

“You two are going to let that cop know we’re here and then everything will be ruined, you arses!” Merida hissed at them, pointing at the door.

Jamie and Hiccup grumbled apologies and went back to listening to the conversation in silence. Everyone there was holding their breath, just in case North could hear them breathing.

Suddenly, at the sound of Pitch’s name, Merida, Jack, and Flynn all took a collective gasp and Jack stumbled around in daze, knocking a chair and a lamp over in the process. Hiccup could tell the three of them knew about this guy, while he, Jamie, and Rapunzel didn’t know much.

“Jack, it’s okay, he’s not actually here.” Flynn was trying to console Jack and he just kept shaking his head and backing further away from the door.

A minute later, Bunny entered and examined the room. Hiccup liked to picture him as an actual rabbit from the way he walked and talked. He was like a superhero, willing to help the kids skip town and provide a shelter for them.

“Look, Jack, I know you and Pitch have some…history, but it was the only way I could get North to leave.” Bunny said.

Jack wouldn’t look anyone in the eye and everyone knew better than to ask him what Bunny had meant by history and how he had even known about it.

“Let’s just to the part where you give us a place to stay and some food so we can just forget the second worst night of our lives.” Merida demanded.

“Merida.” Hiccup hissed quietly. “Maybe we should be nicer to him.”

“It’s okay, kid. I know a good place for you all, I have a guy that can take you guys there.”

Suddenly, everyone was on edge.

“Actually, we can manage ourselves if you just give us the directions and the stuff we need.” Rapunzel stated. “We’d prefer if no one else knew what we were doing.”

Bunny examined the group, “Right, I can get you guys there myself. My guys won’t dare question what I’m doing and I can get you all in a car without any of them noticing.”

"But-“ Jamie tried to interject and Flynn nudged him.

“That would be great, thanks.” Flynn said.

“Great,” Bunny clapped his hands together. “Let’s get a move on then!”

 


End file.
